The Poppy Perinatal Yoga School
Yoga for pregnancy, postpartum, and the people who teach it
Pregnancy, birth, and post-birth are among the most magnificent and intense journeys a person can experience. The practices of the Poppy Perinatal Yoga School help you move through them with more support, strength, and confidence.
Yoga Alliance–accredited 85-hour Registered Prenatal Yoga School
Expecting, or newly postpartum? Find a class or prepare for your birth.
The Poppy Approach
Four principles, one thread
Poppy is not a style of yoga — it is an approach, founded on principles that can be woven into any style to help pregnant people prepare for birth and postpartum people recover with more ease and support.
- BreatheExpand the whole ribcage — more room for organs, baby, and breath, and less pressure driving down on the pelvic floor.
- AlignFind the alignment that lets soft tissue release excess tension and strengthen where there is excess slack.
- SupportFeet, legs, and core — the pillars that steady you through pregnancy, labor, and postpartum recovery.
- SoftenMeet intensity without hardening against it, so you can respond with intelligence and resourcefulness.
Teacher training
The path to certification
The Poppy Perinatal Yoga Teacher Training is offered in two levels. Start with any Level 1 training, add Level 2 when you are ready, or take both together in the 85-hour immersion.
Level 1 · Essential
Foundation
3-, 4-, or 5-day training
Any Level 1 training stands alone. Complete one and you can begin weaving the Poppy approach into your own classes.
Outcome: Graduate — Poppy Perinatal Yoga Trained
Level 2 · Comprehensive
Deepen and certify
6- or 7-day training
Level 2 plus additional written coursework earns certification in the approach, at a deeper level of knowledge and skill.
Outcome: Certified Poppy Perinatal Yoga Integration Teacher
Levels 1 + 2 together
The 85-hour immersion
9-day training · 10-day in a retreat setting
Both levels in one arc, with teaching practicum, live feedback, sequencing clinics, and the full guest-workshop series.
Outcome: Eligible to register as RPYT with Yoga Alliance
The 9-day/10-day training is accredited by Yoga Alliance as an 85-hour Registered Prenatal Yoga School (RPYS), and every Poppy training counts as Yoga Alliance continuing education.
From the training room
I summed up the gratitude I had for the last 10 days I spent in this perinatal yoga teacher training in one word: transformative.
Nakia
This training is a game changer. My current postpartum practice and my teaching style is shaped entirely around this training.
Melissa Bonnette
I took the 3-day training. It gave me tools to feel confident teaching prenatal and postnatal students. […] I cannot recommend highly enough.
Debbie Nall
For pregnant & postpartum people
Poppy isn’t only for teachers. Practice with Cat in Houston or online, prepare for your birth, or find a Poppy-trained teacher near you in the graduate directory.
Weekly classes
Pregnancy & Postpartum Yoga, Tuesdays 11:00–12:00 at Heart of Houston Birth & Wellness Center. Pre-registration required.
Online, anytime
Stream prenatal and postnatal yoga classes on Mat2Mat — available 24/7, wherever you are in the world.
Childbirth preparation
The Spinning Babies® Parent Class with Cat — more comfort in pregnancy and more ease in birth, in Houston or live online.
The Poppy newsletter
Hear it first
Training dates are announced to the list before anywhere else — along with scholarship openings, new classes, and manual updates.